Art Walk draws artists, visitors to Wau-Ke-Na Nature Preserve

Sunday

Aug 31, 2008 at 12:01 AMAug 31, 2008 at 10:52 AM

John Killig methodically applied paint to canvas Saturday, Aug. 30, standing in the dry prairie grass with his easel facing a wooded pond, while bugs chirped and catfish splashed out of the still water, catching snacks tossed in by young children.

“This is a departure for me,” said the Kalamazoo-based painting instructor at West Michigan University.

“This is a landscape ‘en plein air,’ from the French, meaning ‘in the open air.’ I’m more of an impressionist. We all have our methods to our madness — it’s all wonderful,” said the accomplished painter, his brush wet with paint.

STEVE RALPH

John Killig methodically applied paint to canvas Saturday, Aug. 30, standing in the dry prairie grass with his easel facing a wooded pond, while bugs chirped and catfish splashed out of the still water, catching snacks tossed in by young children.

“This is a departure for me,” said the Kalamazoo-based painting instructor at West Michigan University.

“This is a landscape ‘en plein air,’ from the French, meaning ‘in the open air.’ I’m more of an impressionist. We all have our methods to our madness — it’s all wonderful,” said the accomplished painter, his brush wet with paint.

Killig joined a dozen artists representing four area galleries at the inaugural Wau-Ke-Na Art Walk, held 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 30, at the Wau-Ke-Na nature preserve, 365 acres of mixed grassland, prairie, wetlands, ponds and wet woodlands in Ganges Township.

“This venue is amazing,” said Saugatuck painter Max Matteson, who was already working on his second piece around lunchtime.

Pete Ter Louw, executive director of the Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy, which owns and operates the preserve for wildlife preservation and public enjoyment, coordinated the event with painter Jerry Killig, John’s brother.

“We’ve protected more than 7,000 acres of land in West Michigan, including 2,000 in preserves which we own, about 80 percent of which was gifted to us,” he said.

Jerry Killig and Ter Louw said they hope the event, aimed at pairing the artistic and environmental communities, will bring more members into the conservancy, ultimately helping its mission of preserving natural land in the area.

The event was on track to admit 500 visitors, with 250 already in attendance by 1 p.m.

Galleries represented in the walk included The Nines in Holland, Button Gallery in Saugatuck, Water Street Gallery in Douglas and Gallery 344 in Kalamazoo.